«Når myndighetene griper inn» by Tomas Midttun Tobiassen

The project

The principle of legality has an obvious place in the lawyer's consciousness. The principle must be the shield that protects citizens against the state's exercise of power, the guarantor that the authorities' intervention towards the individual has a democratic foundation, and one of the pillars of the rule of law. However, the legal requirements of the principle of legality do not have a precise legal content, and the literature on the principle is largely based on an analysis of a handful of selected court decisions.

In this book, Tomas Midttun Tobiassen goes beyond theory and looks at the significance of the principle given in practice. The book is based on an analysis of 118 decisions from the Supreme Court where the question was whether the authorities had a sufficient basis in law to intervene against individuals. The analysis provides insight into how the Supreme Court in practice has applied the principle of legality – a practice that in part differs from what has previously been described in legal literature.